Learning medical ethics in a primary care clinic

摘要

Context and setting The principles of medical ethics can be taught through didactic lectures in formal classroom teaching. However, students would appreciate the principles better if they were exposed to real-life clinical scenarios where issues related to medical ethics in clinical practice could be encountered. The Department of Family Medicine atthe International Medical University, Malaysia has developed a structured and organised ethics learning programme for clinical students during the family medicine posting.Why the idea was necessary The UK General Medical Council and other professional bodies worldwide have now recognised that medical ethics need to be explicitly taught, rather than remaining a 'hidden' subject in medical education. During the family medicine rotation, Year 3 medical students are required to be attached to community primary care clinics. This presents a good opportunity for students to identify and appreciate common ethical issues in day-to-day practice. This approach makes the teaching and learning of ethics more effective.